Rose Garden
by Heaven's Guardian
Summary: It takes care to hold a rose. When Hayate loses his job and his reason for living, he is once again thrown out on the streets to be rescued by a girl. This time, however, his savior doesn't need protection. She would like it very much, though. Post-Ch 98.


**I'm finally back! New story, but as always I own none of the rights to Hayate no Gotoku or its characters.**

**An Early Meeting**

_As he pulled her body close to him, he also drew in her heart. She was frightened; not from the view from the tower, but from the way her body naturally curled in towards his chest, from the way her fingers slipped between his and felt right in his hand, from the way her heartbeat throbbed in her chest as she turned to look at his face. She could no longer deny her thoughts: she, Katsura Hinagiku, was undoubtedly in love with Ayasaki Hayate._

It was approaching three in the morning, and Hinagiku was no close to falling asleep than she had been an hour ago. If she didn't manage to fall asleep, she would be tired all day at school, and with exams coming up and all of the work she needed to do, she couldn't afford to be at anything less than her best. If she didn't sleep at all, she would have to go home early, and she wouldn't end up studying at all. Well, that wasn't entirely the case; she had slept a little bit-

Shaking her head violently to clear away the rush of images that her thoughts had brought back, Hinagiku's cheeks flared crimson as she tried to maintain her composure. Only a few hours prior, she had stood on the terrace of the student council tower with Hayate as he held her tightly to his warm body. Her body heated up under the sheets as her flushed skin spread from her cheeks to the rest of her body, sweat sticking her skin to her bedding. No matter how terrified that view would have made her at any other time, Hayate's presence at her side and his comforting touch let her feel safe. And now that he was gone and she lay alone in her bed thinking about him, she thought that she might never get to sleep.

The night hadn't started off well; she had almost left a few times, but she felt something keeping her there. Maybe she trusted him a little too much to believe that he would abandon her like her parents. He had come to save her when she called for him, and as much as her spirit had failed her over those terrifying hours, her heart refused to let her leave. Did it know, somehow, of what was to come? She still hadn't quite understood why he was so late and how he could have forgotten her (and she would need to have that answered as soon as possible), but his warmth had made her forget all of her anger for a few minutes. She could get used to that. Suddenly, a terrifying thought came to her. 'I never actually said anything to him. What if…he doesn't like me that way?' Her excitement collapsed like a weight onto her chest, and she sat up gasping for air in shock at what she had forgotten. She would need to find out the truth as soon as possible. Could someone as kind and strong as Hayate ever really like her? He was almost more feminine than she was. Not only was she on the Student Council and really good at sports, there were the obvious…physical considerations to take into account. Would Hayate ever fall for such a flat, tomboyish, unfeminine girl like her?

Restless thoughts followed Hinagiku in and out of her dreams that night. She needed her answer, but first she had to manage to ask him her question.

* * *

Ayasaki Hayate was content. Hinagiku hadn't killed him, he was wearing his normal clothes and everything was really quite normal. He deftly stepped around a passing pedestrian, making sure to keep in step with Nagi. His ojou-sama had been…less than pleased about his late-night meeting with Hinagiku, but he had reassured her that there was absolutely no possibility that Hinagiku could feel anything more than friendship towards him, and so he was not about to abandon her. After all, a poor, horribly unlucky butler with over a hundred fifty million yen in debt was not going to appeal to such a talented and well-liked girl like Hinagiku. Even if, for some unfathomable reason, she could ever fall in love with him, he could not abandon his ojou-sama, who had saved him from the very nice men. Not that he mentioned that last part; if he even acknowledged a theoretical possibility that Hinagiku or any other girl could fall in love with him and become the most important girl to him, he had a feeling that Nagi would not respond well.

"Ah, Hayate? We're here." Lost in thought, Hayate felt a hand grab his shoulder and turn him around. He had almost walked straight past the school gates before Nagi stopped him. "What's wrong, Hayate? You've been tired all morning. Don't tell me it was because of your meeting with Hinagiku? What did you end up giving her, anyway?"

"Oh, just a bag of homemade biscuits."

"You weren't doing…anything else, right? If Hinagiku started to like Hayate-"

Hayate was about to fervently deny the possibility of any such thing ever happening, but a gentle touch on his hand stopped him. "Hinagiku-san?"

"You look really tired, Hayate-kun. I didn't keep you up too late, did I?"

Nagi's jaw began to twitch, but Hayate, being oblivious to the danger of this conversation, responded without thinking. "Ah, no no no! It was my fault we were up so late! I should have been watching the time better, and now you must be very tired as well, Hinagiku-san!"

The twitch in Nagi's jaw vanished, to be replaced with a rhythmic grinding of her teeth that anyone paying attention would have immediately noticed. Unfortunately for Hayate and Hinagiku, they were not.

"Yes, last night was very tiring. But I…suppose I had a good time. So I don't regret it." Hinagiku's cheeks took on a reddish tint at that last line.

An anguished scream rendered the air, and Hayate and Hinagiku turned towards the spot where Nagi had been only seconds before. Her blond pigtails were violently swinging through the air as she ran, her steps slamming against the ground from anger and lack of practice. Hayate turned confusedly at Hinagiku. "Why is ojou-sama running away? Does she not want to go to school that badly?"

Hinagiku thought for a moment, before her special brand of delayed insight reached her brain, with the red tint to her cheeks blooming into a luminescent blush. "She…she doesn't think that…we did that…sort of thing. Does she?"

Hayate stood dumbstruck for a moment before he nearly vanished from the spot to chase after Nagi. "I'm sorry, Hinagiku-san! I promised to protect her, and it seems I have failed again. I have to go and correct this misunderstanding!"

Hinagiku started to call after him, but with Hayate's inhuman speed he was out of shouting range before she could form another coherent thought. 'So…he doesn't really love me. It was a misunderstanding.' For the first time that she could remember, Hinagiku decided to skip school.


End file.
